Soccer, referred to as "football" in the majority of other countries, is one of the most popular sports in the world, both at professional and amateur levels. In this regard, for many countries soccer is considered the national sport. Even in the United States soccer has recently made considerable strides in popularity. Thus, there exists a continuous need for improved methods and apparatus for teaching soccer skills to developing players.
In developing the skills of younger players, as well as honing the skills of veteran players, it is desirous to teach the player a variety of individual skills; examples being dribbling, passing and trapping. However, often overlooked, and more difficult to teach developing players, is an appreciation of how to work one's individual skills into a fluid game with other team members. In order to increase a player's ability to .act as part of a team a greater understanding of the game, beyond ones individual skills, must be developed. Examples of the concepts young players need to appreciate is an understanding of team defense, passing lanes, one touch passing, and proper off-the-ball movement. For without an understanding of how to properly work individual skills into a fluid team game, such as soccer, neither the individual nor the team can succeed.
Due to the number of players, field size and the typical ball movement in a traditional soccer game, it is often difficult to focus on and develop individual skills as well as an understanding of other aspects of the game. In this regard numerous drills and tactics have been developed by various coaches and trainers in order to help players develop particular individual skills. However, new methods and ball games which focus on the development of one's individual skills and yet which also help players focus on and come to appreciate fundamental aspects of the game itself, such as movement away from the ball and team defense, are in great need.